When I shop online it is becoming standard to see not only the product descriptions and maybe some reviews but also more often than not I will get some social context. I can see how many people have liked the product and when I am logged in I can see whether that applies to my friends. Social context appears to drive increased sales by stimulating impulse purchase and encouraging wavering consumers. So I am increasingly interested in how this will be possible when I am in a real store. I actually think that most of the technology is there and we are just waiting for retailers to make the connection or for consumers to demand it. Some stores are ahead of the game; Allsaints and now the new Burberry store in Covent Garden are all teched up with digital screens that in theory will make this connection possible. Allsaints have gone for the iPad option and Burberry have gone all out with huge digital screens and wi-fi throughout. Both of these stores are making it easier for me to bring my digital and real world shopping closer together. The other option I have is to use my mobile, I could use an app like Google Goggles to get access to any available information about any given object, assuming that the object owner is well optimised then I might be able to see all sorts of interesting information including what other people think about this product. Augmented reality technology like Layar can also help bring these shopping worlds together. Bings latest developments on their search engine are also geared to help bring more social context to shopping experiences; combining location with social data and recommendations. Every brand owner should be thinking about how to make sure that they are ready and optimised for the new consumer demands…

Alternatively, if I don’t want to leave my home but do want the experience of trying things on before I buy then XBOX Kinect might just have the answer with its virtual shopping experience technology: http://solsie.com/2011/06/kinectshop-a-new-augmented-reality-shopping-platform-for-the-xbox-kinect/

Related post on Microsofts developments for social real world commerce: http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/01/26/e-commerce-tech-provider-escalate-adds-mobile-shopping-options